Welcome to St Aldhelm

[Modelling Mike]

THE VISION

 

Welcome to St Aldhelm, a bustling and often crowded seaside town in the southern county of Wessex. Situated on the end of a peninsula, separated from the mainland by a large natural harbour to the north, a winding river to the west and surrounded by rolling hills, the town and its environs are accessed by just one main road, and until the 1960s, a branch line which ran from the local main line-served market town of Combe Hardy, via the beautifully picturesque village of Talbothays, which is dominated by the ruins of its Norman castle.

 

Although the railway closed as part of Beeching's modernisation plan in the mid 1960s, almost immediately a small group of vociferous and enterprising locals launched a project to reopen their beloved branch line. Over the past 30 years, they have been slowly re-laying track, renovating structures and restoring and maintaining an impressive fleet of rolling stock. Having achieved their aim of reconnecting St Aldhelm with Combe Hardy several years ago, they are now running regular steam trains through the beautiful Wessex countryside. Not only are these services popular with the plethora of tourists who visit the area in the summer, they have also proved popular with the locals who have come to rely on them to get around the peninsula - and avoid the heavy traffic on the over-stretched roads.

 

St Aldhelm itself started out as a small fishing village. The mining of the local honey-coloured sandstone in the surrounding hills gave rise to a burgeoning economy, with the town becoming a centre for the stone's shipment to places such as London, where it became a popular building material. This saw the development of the harbour area, and as wealthy merchants moved in, so did the enterprising railwaymen. A branch line was first mooted in the 1870s, soon after the LSWR built its main line through Combe Hardy, and was finally opened in the late 1880s. It was an immediate success, providing a fast and efficient method for transporting the stone, and fish from the harbour to London. It didn't take long for the entrepreneurial Victorian businessmen to recognise that the town's picturesque shoreline could also become an attraction in itself, and so they began to build impressive pleasure gardens and a promenade to attract the tourists, who flocked to the quaint little town.

 

Today, St Aldhelm has recovered from the slump that many seaside resorts suffered during the late twentieth century, and has re-awakened as a popular destination for tourists wishing to undertake a "staycation" in the UK, taking in the town's award-winning gardens, sandy beach and beautifully restored promenade, museums, theatre and arts venues. The town's success is thanks, in no small part, to the success of the re-opened railway. Many locals believe that the line - always popular in summertime - should never have closed in the first place, and the local council have taken every opportunity to support the line and take advantage of its ability to bring in the crowds, supporting a year-round community rail scheme in conjunction with the local train operating company.

 

Situated in the heart of the town, a short walk from the seafront, the station was once a bustling terminus - with two platforms for passengers and a large goods area. The old yard has now been taken over by a car park and small supermarket, but the rest of the station area is still home to the new tourist railway, and includes a small loco shed and coaling area, two carriage sidings, a signal box and goods shed.

 

The station entrance looks out onto the end of the high street, which is the main shopping area. Opposite the station site, a parade of late Victorian and early Edwardian buildings house an art-house cinema, boutique hotel, public house and the obligatory gift shops selling postcards, souvenirs, buckets and spades.

 

Behind the carriage siding to the north, on the embankment leading up to a residential road, is a small picnic area, beautifully kept by the railway staff for families and spotters to keep an eye on the action in the station whilst partaking of a locally-made pasty and/or ice cream.

 

At Talbothays station, there is far less hustle and bustle, with the beauty and tranquility of the village only disturbed by the busy road leading through its centre and the regular trains passing through its station. Set on a low embankment, the railway provides visitors with an unrivalled view of the village, its castle and the stunning rolling countryside. The station itself is a beautifully preserved specimen of LSWR architecture, built from the local stone to stay in keeping with its quaint surroundings. The two platforms sit either side of the two running lines forming the only passing place for the otherwise single track line.

 

 

SOUND FAMILIAR?

 

If that vision sounds oddly familiar to you, it's because St Aldhelm and Talbothays are inspired by (though not a slavish reproduction of) Swanage and Corfe Castle on the Swanage Railway in Dorset.

 

The St Aldhelm Railway will be my first attempt at building a layout in nearly six years. Since decommissioning my last layout, Rempton, I have moved house...twice, started a new career (on the railway, of course!) and we have built a large loft extension to our new house. In that time, fitted around decorating, DIY, furniture buying and building, and a considerable amount of training for my new job, I have done a heck of a lot of armchair modelling, reading almost every edition of all four major modelling magazines and their supplements and spending a lot of time browsing my favourite layouts on RMweb. In short, I have been soaking up ideas and letting my imagination run wild.

 

Now, I finally have the space and money to build a decent sized layout in a dedicated room in our new house.

 

 

THE PLAN

 

The layout I am planning to build, although vastly different to Rempton, is a direct descendant of that scheme. Station names have changed, but I have essentially developed a scheme I have been trying to build since I was a teenager, inspired by the Swanage Railway. Back then (we're talking over 20 years ago now) "The Rempton Railway" was essentially a train set with an oval and two extended sidings representing each end of the line. Since then, as life and available space has dictated, I've gone through everything from loft-filling master-plans to tiny shunting layouts in my hunt for an ideal project to get my teeth into.

 

What I have ended up with today is a more grown-up version of what I started out with as a teenager, a more sophisticated train set featuring an oval and extended sidings!

 

St Aldhelm will be housed in a dedicated room in the new loft extension. It's a modest sized room, a few centimetres over 3x3m. I've developed a plan which will allow me to model St Aldhelm and Talbothays stations scenically, with Combe Hardy and the connection to the national network represented by a fiddle yard. Although the plan is to incorporate an oval, I will only use this for the purposes of running in locos and the occasional day when I just want to see the trains pass by. Usually, the layout will operate as a preserved branch line would. The railway itself will feature a plethora of lovely, mostly Southern region, stock, with the occasional Western interloper. Steam will be at the forefront, but diesel traction will feature occasionally, and the main line connection will allow me to run some "specials" and more unusual fare.

 

Many people have strong opinions about whether the preservation and heritage scene is suitable material for modelling. But as a modeller with an interest in steam outline as well as the modern scene, who's only experience of steam is trips to heritage lines and the occasional sighting of a mainline charter, this feels like the perfect subject matter for me. Although I haven't built a layout for 5 years, I have continued to build my collection of rolling stock, all of which I plan to use on St Aldhelm. This isn't just an excuse to run what I want whenever I want to, though. I want to model a fictional heritage line as realistically as possible, and each train featured on the St Aldhelm Railway will have a history and a reason for being there. Although that won't stop me from invoking rule 1 of the modeller's code whenever I feel like it!

 

 

WHAT'S NEXT?

 

After so much time spent thinking, planning, despairing as to whether I'd ever get this project started, I now find myself with a dedicated modelling room, and all the materials I need to build some quality baseboards. I'm itching to get started, but need to be patient just a little longer. I have six rest days starting on 1st March, and plan to build the first couple of boards over this period.

 

Realistically, progress is bound to be slow as I fit my modelling in around a full time job, commitments around the house and other interests, but I'm aiming to have trains running on the oval part of the scheme by the summer.

 

I'll be updating this thread as and when progress is made. In the meantime, for posterity, here are some pictures of St Aldhelm's home as of this month...a blank canvas waiting to be filled!

 

 

The fiddle yard will be built across these cabinets, with the Talbothays scene running through the centre of the room on removable boards.

 

 

 

One day, all this wood will be a scenic railway! The boards will run from the fiddle yard on the right, under the window onto the scenic section - one track will turn sharp left towards Talbothays in the centre of the room. Another will go straight on, over a viaduct and on into St Aldhelm. The station throat for the latter will be approximately where the workmate is. 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Modelling Mike
Replacing lost photos

[Modelling Mike]

Work finally began in earnest building some baseboards for St Aldhelm today.

 

Now, I'm the first to admit my woodworking skills have always left a lot to be desired in the past, and the construction phase of this build has had me panicking slightly. I really wanted to do everything I could to make sure I ended up with a sturdy set of level and trouble-free boards. For a while, I contemplated having some built professionally, but the cost put me off, and I fancied the challenge. How To articles in various magazines have been pored over, and I've been out and bought the best tools and materials I could get my hands on in the hope I could finally put my woodworking demons to rest.

 

I started off with a big pile of wood: 12mm plywood for the tops (I wanted 9mm, but every timber yard in the area with a cutting service had sold out) cut to 2'x4' and 1.5'x4' size boards by the merchant; 18x69mm pine timber to form the frame; and 44x44mm pine for the legs.

 

 

 

The timber was cut to size then glued and screwed together in the traditional way, and by some miracle, I ended up with this...my very first purpose-built baseboard which somehow managed to sit flat on the storage unit where it will form part of the fiddle yard.

 

 

 

Could lightening strike twice, I wondered...turns out it wasn't a fluke, and by early afternoon I had a pair of boards. Half of the second board would sit on the storage unit, but the other part will be free-standing. Spurred on by early success, I wondered how easy it would be to fashion a pair of legs. Not too difficult at all, it turned out...

 

 

 

I've deliberately kept things simple. The legs slot into pockets formed by offcuts of timber, which provide a tight fit. The leg is braced by a second piece of timber, again glued and screwed in place. A second screw has been added to each side of the cross-member since the photo was taken to provide some rigidity.

 

Not being confident in my ability to measure and cut wood with pin-point accuracy, and to cope with any undulations in the floor, I decided to fit adjustable feet. These somewhat heavy duty ones are from Station Road Baseboards, and are simplicity itself to fit and adjust.

 

 

 

Buoyed on by this further success, I decided to tackle the one job I had been fearing the most - aligning and joining the boards together.

 

I did quite a bit of research into alignment dowels, and to be quite honest, I was daunted by the prospect of making them work. In the end, I opted for DCC Concepts' product, mainly because they provide a kit which includes the correct diameter spade drill bits and the promise of full instructions on the packet. Where could I go wrong?! For attachments, I went for sprung toggle catches (again, from Station Road Baseboards). These boards join together at a right angle, so one straight and one right-angled toggle was needed.

 

 

 

 

I really needn't have worried about the dowels. The kit was brilliant, with the instructions being pretty foolproof. Within half an hour of clamping the boards together upside down on the floor (to keep the tops in line), I had two perfectly aligned boards which locked together firmly. This time included that taken to re-attach the right-angled toggle, as it wouldn't close firmly the first time. With these, you really do have to be accurate, otherwise you'll end up with too loose a connection.

 

 

 

 

I neglected to take a photo of the two boards joined together, but I'm happy to say they fit together perfectly!

 

All in all, I'm really pleased with the day's work. Everything went smoothly and I was surprised just how easily it went. It proved to me just how important doing the research, buying the right tools and not scrimping on quality products is to ending up with a decent foundation. Having said that, I might end up going up into the hobby room tomorrow and finding it's all fallen to pieces again!

 

So, that's 2 boards down and 7 to go. I did start with two of the easiest boards today and tomorrow's construction will test my new-found abilities further. Lets hope it all goes just as smoothly...

Edited July 31, 2022 by Modelling Mike
Fixing lost photos

[Crisis Rail]

Quality Mike

 

Good introduction with a clean slate and empty spare room to boot.

 

Bliss.

 

St Aldhelm's head caught my attention  - know the area well through holidays also Swanage and Corfe Castle -  my favourite viewpoint is the Banks Arms beergarden (Corfe)

 

Will a "Diesel Gala" feature?

 

Ian

[Modelling Mike]

Thanks for the kind words, Ian! The clean slate has been a god send...if a long time coming...and I'm determined to make the very best of it.

 

I'm glad someone got the St Aldhelm's Head reference! I used to go on holiday on Purbeck as a kid. Our campsite being just up the hill from Harman's Cross - the end of the line back then - a trip on the Swanage Railway was always a highlight. I've been back a few times and still think it's one of the best heritage lines in the country.

 

I'm hoping I'll have room for a Banks Arms beer garden overlooking Talbothays station with plenty of people enjoying the summer sunshine and watching the trains go by

 

Being more of a kettle fan, I have very few diesels at the moment, but more will be added to the roster eventually, no doubt, so a gala might have to feature!

[Modelling Mike]

More progress made today, although it feels like I got a lot less done despite being at it most of the day!

 

Boards 1, 2 and 3 are now complete. These will be home to the fiddleyard, which will represent Combe Hardy (non-scenic) and the connection to the national network. The third board was an odd corner shape, and had to be shortened by a few centimetres to clear the radiator, so plenty of sawing and fettling of frame components took up loads of time.

 

 

 

 

 

I had just completed the frame for board 4 before calling it a day earlier. This one's going to be even more complicated as I've decided to drop it 4 inches lower than the other boards to allow for some potential landscaping below track height. Boards 5 & 6, which will be home to Talbothays, will also be at this lower height. I think I know how I'm going to achieve the transition between boards...tune in tomorrow to see if my idea works!

Edited July 31, 2022 by Modelling Mike
Replacing lost photos

[Modelling Mike]

Another day of good progress today. I now have 5 out of 9 boards built, albeit the last two are legless (it is Friday night, after all!)

 

Most of the day was taken up by measuring and cutting the irregular-sized Talbothays boards. These will jut out into the middle of the room, which will help me to duck under and have enough room to access the fiddleyard, and also should allow me to achieve a gentle flow to the curved track.

 

To cut the boards accurately, I had to place all the boards on the floor so that I could position the ply and mark it for cutting. In doing so, I got a tantalising glimpse of what the final configuration will look like...

 

 

 

The old adage of "measure twice, cut once" saved me from a very expensive mistake during this part of the build. Having marked up the wood, I suddenly realised that the fourth board, which I finished building this morning, had moved out of position, so one of the marks was a good 10mm out. Just goes to show, you have to keep checking!!

 

After re-positioning all the finished boards in their rightful places, I then built board 5. The odd angles caused a few headaches, but I managed to make a very sturdy, solid board...somehow! For some reason, the photo below makes it look like the furthest two corners are right angles - but the board is in fact a rhombus with no right angle corners at all!

 

 

 

I mentioned yesterday that boards 4, 5 & 6 will all be at a lower height than the first three. Another time consuming job today was adding the joining piece to board 4. It consists of a piece of 9mm ply cut to size to accommodate the 4 inch drop, with an off cut of 18x69 timber which will allow me to fit dowels to align it with the corner board. It's all glued and screwed together and is remarkably robust. The only concern I have is that I can't see how I'm going to clamp the boards together to fit the dowels. But that's a concern for another day...

 

 

 

Sadly, building work is going to be paused again for a little while. Family and household commitments mean I won't get any modelling time in over the weekend or Monday, then it's back to work on Tuesday for two weeks. Happily, then I have another week off, with plenty of time to finish off these boards and crack on with track laying!

 

I also have a growing shopping list for my trip to Ally Pally later this month...

Edited July 31, 2022 by Modelling Mike
Replacing lost photos

[westerner]

I do like a good back story as this is very good. I shall be following with interest.

[Modelling Mike]

I do like a good back story as this is very good. I shall be following with interest.

Thanks Alan, I've been following the goings on at Kingsbridge over the last few years - lurking in the background, as I've been gathering inspiration and ideas for my own build. Its your level of detail and atmosphere that I'm aiming for.

[tractionman]

A very nice job on those boards, looking good.

 

All the best with the build.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

[John Rich]

Just found this thread Mike, it is great to see the start of a project with the tantalising glimpse of bare baseboards coming along very nicely, not sure why you say your woodwork skills are in short supply, they look mighty fine to me.

 

Having a house on the market awaiting that rare beast "a buyer" I have no layout at the moment having dismantled my last incomplete effort.

 

It will be great following your progress and "banking" ideas for the hopefully not to distant future when I can make another start, looking forward to your progress.

 

John

[Modelling Mike]

A very nice job on those boards, looking good.

All the best with the build.

Cheers,

Keith

Just found this thread Mike, it is great to see the start of a project with the tantalising glimpse of bare baseboards coming along very nicely, not sure why you say your woodwork skills are in short supply, they look mighty fine to me.

Having a house on the market awaiting that rare beast "a buyer" I have no layout at the moment having dismantled my last incomplete effort.

It will be great following your progress and "banking" ideas for the hopefully not to distant future when I can make another start, looking forward to your progress.

John

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. I had worried that posting progress from the word go might bore people - but it seems you lot love a good backstory and the prospect of things to come!

 

John, if you take a look at some of my older projects on RMweb, you'll see how atrocious my previous woodworking attempts have been in the past. I have taken this opportunity at a clean slate to really put the effort in to doing it properly this time, and so far it seems to have paid off. It's amazing how much a bit of research, together with investment in the right tools and materials will pay off, and just goes to show even a cack-handed, accident-prone bumbler like me can put something decent together. I'm surprised and delighted by how it's all turned out so far. Still a long way to go though!

 

I feel your frustration, John. That was me in 2012, when I dismantled my previous project only for the moving date to move ever further away. And when we did finally move, job changes and building work stopped me from getting started again. Last week was the first time since then I've done any kind of serious and sustained railway modelling for five years... I do hope your hiatus doesn't last as long!

[Modelling Mike]

With more than a week to go before any more substantial baseboard building can take place, I thought I'd tempt you with a track plan.

 

 

 

Now, the plan is posted with some provisos. Firstly, it's not finished yet! Secondly, the "St Aldhelm" section won't be built until the track and electrics are installed on Talbothays and the fiddle yard.

 

The fiddle yard and Talbothays are shown pretty much as they will appear in the final build. I'm concentrating on this section first, because it will allow me to run in my new locos on the continuous run and to play trains relatively quickly! I haven't drawn the platform, station buildings, goods shed and signalbox on Talbothays, but I'm aiming to emulate the tranquil, picturesque, chocolate box feel of Corfe Castle

 

So, boards 1-5 have been built. On my next week of rest days (week after next) I'll almost certainly be able to complete the legs for 4 & 5 and build board 6.

 

Boards 4, 5 & 6 are being built 4 inches lower than the fiddle yard boards in order to allow for scenic features to sit below track level. Although lower, I'll still be able to duck under them to access the fiddle yard which sits on the storage units (bought from a famous Swedish furniture store, shown in grey) which are home to the stock collection.

 

HOW THE FIDDLE YARD WILL WORK...

 

Until St Aldhelm is built, the fiddle yard will have to represent both ends of the line. The crossover at the top of board 1 (A) creates an oval, which won't be used in normal operation once the whole layout is built. It is intended to be used as a running-in oval and to form a loop (A-B) which will mimic the main platform and run-around loop at St Aldhelm. Once St Aldhelm itself is built, the loop will act as another storage siding, allowing me to form up even more trains, and the right-hand track will become the through road for trains from St Aldhelm to Talbothays.

 

The fan of sidings will host trains of various lengths, some from the railway's own fleet, and others visiting from the mainline. To make operations a little more interesting, I've decided the preservation operation only has access to a redundant bay platform at Combe Hardy, plus a short loco spur. Therefore, the railway will run services in one of two ways

 

Peak, summer services will be formed of loco and coaches with at least two locos in steam. The inbound loco will uncouple and a second loco will shunt from the spur and couple to the rear. Once the train has departed, the trapped loco will shunt into the spur and wait for the next service to take back to St Aldhelm.

 

In quieter periods, the railway will make use of its collection of pull-push-fitted tanks and coaches, or its BR blue liveried DMU.

 

I'll be using the siding closest to the baseboard edge as the spur, with a protective barrier attached to the end to prevent any unfortunate accidents occurring!

 

TALBOTHAYS

 

Talbothays is the only passing place on the line. The up and down platforms will sit either side of the tracks, with the station building roughly halfway own the platform nearest the front (the scene is viewed from the door side, with the fiddle yard hidden by the back scene).

 

A goods shed and run-around loop will be accessed from a short head shunt. At the moment, I'm worried the shunt is too short, and may have to reconfigure this area once I get to the track-laying stage.

 

AS FOR ST ALDHELM...

 

The formation here has been copied and pasted from an earlier plan and is still a long way from being finalised. I should have called it Eganaws, because it's essentially a mirror image of Swanage. I'm currently re-jigging the station throat in order to move the track away from the edge of the board. I'll probably add a fillet of board to the corner here, but I'll need it to be quickly and easily moved to allow access to an eaves cupboard behind board 7. Moving the tracks back will reduce the number of joints across the boards, but will mean tighter curves, which is a pity, but can't be avoided.

 

I've added a fictional carriage siding to the rear to add interest, and the shed is accessed from a head shunt. I'm not sure if I like this formation, so either the shed will move, or the access will be re-configured. The turntable is larger than the one at Swanage to allow me to turn larger tender locos.

 

I don't see work starting on this side of the layout for quite a few months, so plenty of time yet to finalise the plan...thoughts and suggestions gratefully received!

Edited July 31, 2022 by Modelling Mike
Replacing lost track plan

[Modelling Mike]

I couldn't resist. With no time for woodwork, but a free hour the other night, I took the opportunity to lay some track down to see if the fiddle yard concept would work.

 

The fiddle yard will be laid using Peco code 100 flexi and setrack pieces. I'm still umming and arring about exactly what kind of track to lay in the scenic areas, but it will be finer and more prototypical. I have used code 100 in previous projects and have plenty of it knocking around...in fact, I can lay almost the entire fiddle yard with what I have in stock.

 

At the top end of the yard, we have the track heading in from St Aldhelm towards the through road on the left (A) and from Talbothays into the storage roads on the right (B).

 

 

 

I have drawn in where the points will connect with flexitrack.

 

 

 

A lower angle of the crossover which will eventually form the "running in" oval.

 

At the bottom end, the fan of storage sidings all fit, with what looks like enough space to "fiddle" with train formations.

 

 

 

The red line shows where the through road will connect with the loop, allowing me to mimic movements at St Aldhelm while I wait for the track to be laid there. The siding nearest the baseboard edge will act as Combe Hardy's loco spur and will be protected from accidental knocks by a ply barrier.

 

And just to prove I can fit the planned trains in the sidings, I unboxed some coaches. There's plenty of room for four coaches plus a tender loco in the two longest sidings. I had hoped to accommodate trains of at least four coaches, so I was very happy!

 

 

Edited July 31, 2022 by Modelling Mike
Replacing lost photos

[Zomboid]

I really like the spiral idea with the sly roundy in there.

Not sure what the semi disconnected run round is doing for you at Talbotheys though, that feels a little bit unlikely to me. What kind of operation would see that being used?

[Modelling Mike]

I really like the spiral idea with the sly roundy in there.

Not sure what the semi disconnected run round is doing for you at Talbotheys though, that feels a little bit unlikely to me. What kind of operation would see that being used?

Hi Zomboid,

 

If you're referring to the run around on board 6, this is the goods shed area. (I haven't had time to draw in the buildings and platforms at Talbothays). It is based on the layout at Corfe Castle, pre-heritage days (as illustrated in this image from a thread in the Templot forum). It has been a while since I visited Corfe, and I need to head there again soon to see what they've done to the area in preservation. Looking at Google Maps, it looks like they've cut back the area considerably, with just a single road leading to the goods shed (and expanded the head shunt area with an extra siding...but I don't have room to model that).

 

I included the loco release and run around to see if it would fit. It does, just, but I would probably never use it, as I won't have any goods operations (except maybe the occasional demonstration goods). When I reach the track laying stage, I'll be playing around with some turnout templates to see what works best. Part of me is thinking I'll end up with two sidings instead. Also, I'm not convinced the head shunt is long enough to be feasible, so I may have to swing the connection around to be accessed from the St Aldhelm direction.

 

So when I said Talbothays is shown pretty much how it will appear in the final build, what I meant by that was...um...yeah, there's still a lot of thinking to do!

[martin_wynne]

It has been a while since I visited Corfe, and I need to head there again soon to see what they've done to the area in preservation.

 

[Modelling Mike]

Thanks for posting the video, Martin. I thoroughly enjoyed that! Great to see the contrast between the 70s decay and the vibrant scene today. You must have been there shortly after I last visited...I distinctly remember the timbers going up for the new signal box. Lovely stuff.

[Modelling Mike]

Let's talk track...

 

I need some advice and/or your opinion to make up my mind what to do.

 

Up until now, I have used Peco code 100 track on my projects. Like many, it's what I grew up with and I stuck with it because of a fear of not being skilled enough to go finescale.

 

Before my modelling sabbatical, I'd tried Peco code 75 instead. It's a vast improvement over code 100, but the compromises such as sleeper spacing, the over-centre spring and the two-part assembly of the switchblades and closure rails are still there. So I've been doing a lot of research and thinking about what to do, but it's not a simple case of choose a product and go with it, as the market in OO track is changing by the minute.

 

A heritage branch line such as St Aldhelm would have been laid using bullhead rail. Ultimately, that's what I'd like to use. But how will I achieve it?

 

PECO

I was excited to hear Peco had finally decided to produce "proper" OO track, and bullhead at that. I saw the sample shown at Warley last year and was impressed. It looked like I might have my answer. But...

 

Only lengths of flexitrack are being produced so far. Turnouts are in the pipeline, but apparently long radius straight turnouts will be released first and I'm relying on a lot of curved and medium radius turnouts for my track plan. Two of the three I'll need to complete the Talbothays oval are curved.

 

I have designed the track plan in XtrakCad using Peco code 75 templates, and I understand the new bullhead turnouts will match the geometry of the existing range. So if I do decide to go with Peco, I could buy flat bottom turnouts for now, and exchange them for bullhead as and when they're released. I'll have to wait before ballasting but scenic treatment may be a while off yet...

 

LEGACY

DCC Concepts' new range looks exciting. In many ways, I prefer the look of their bullhead flexitrack. However, like Peco, there are no RTR turnouts in the range...yet.

 

I'm not averse to trying to build a turnout kit, and the Legacy kits look great for a beginner like me to get my teeth into. However, the simple assembly means soldering the rail directly to the sleeper, and to me that instantly makes them look more toy-like. Apparently, cosmetic chairs are in development, but are some way off from going to market, so I'd be stuck with unrealistic-looking point work for some time.

 

C&L

By far the best option for realistic-looking track work, but...

 

Although I'm a beginner, I'm fairly confident that if I took it slowly, I'd be able to produce a half-decent turnout from a turnout kit. The C&L website insists they're easy to build and I believe them! But...

 

Again, the problem of the track plan comes up. Two of the three turnouts I need to start with are curved. Is it a good idea to start my track building career building turnouts on a curve? Has anyone else tried this? Is it recommended? It's a big leap from code 75 to building your own, so I'll need some reassurance.

 

Then there's the matter of matching the Peco geometry. I've tried to use large and medium turnouts wherever possible to improve the flow of the plan, but in yards and sidings, I've had to use one or two small radius. Is it possible to match these with C&L (or Legacy) kits? I've tried to research my way around this, but I'm afraid the terminology baffles me...especially when it comes to comparing RTR and kit-built products.

 

There's also the matter of price. The C&L range is impressive, but the prices are significantly higher compared to RTR trackwork. If I was to take the plunge, I'm looking at a substantial financial outlay which will put pressure on to get the build right!

 

The key advantage of using C&L is that if I can overcome the geometry questions and my beginners nerves, everything I need is already available.

 

I believe C&L will be attending the London Festival at the end of the month...I may have to pop along and have a chat with them...and I can see me returning with a few bags of bits!

 

I have taken a look at some other ranges (Marcway, SMP, Tillig, etc) but have discounted them for a number of reasons.

 

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts and any advice you could impart would be much appreciated!

[martin_wynne]

Hi Mike,

 

Lots of folk build their own 00 track nowadays, have a look at the topics and posts by members hayfield, gordon s, and others on RMweb.

 

But I wouldn't recommend starting with a curved turnout. One step at a time. You have several straight turnouts on your plan -- in the fiddle yard, the platform release crossover, etc. Have a go at one or two of those first.

 

Note that the DCC Concepts track uses stainless steel rail. Soldering stainless steel is tricky, so not a good place for a track-building beginner to start. I recommend starting with nickel-silver to gain confidence. The "Hi-Ni" white nickel-silver rail from C&L is a better match to steel colour than yellow nickel-silver, if that's important to you.

 

When you get to building the curved turnouts I recommend using templates printed from Templot rather than trying to match the Peco geometry.

 

The good news is that you have used XTrackCad, which can export DXF files. These can be imported directly into Templot's background shapes as a design guide. This has the advantage over a captured screen image in that you can zoom in without it becoming pixellated and so work to greater precision.

Like this screenshot from Templot:

 

The tracks shown in grey are background shapes imported from XTrackCad, they are not Templot templates and cannot be adjusted using the usual Templot controls. But matching Templot tracks can be designed over them, as shown in blue.

The maximum number of background shapes which Templot can support is 32000. For this reason, when exporting a DXF file from a large XTrackCad track plan for use in Templot, it is very advisable to export the track centre-lines only, without the rails and sleepers (ties) -- i.e. not the full grey tracks as showing in this image.

XTrackCad puts all the track details in one layer in the DXF file. You need this layer to contain only the track centre-lines, not the rails or sleepers. So you must change the settings in XTrackCad first:

Turning off the sleepers is easy -- Options > Display > "Draw Ties" > None.

Turning off the rails is not so obvious. In Options > Display >, change "Two Rail Scale" to 0 (zero).

Then with only the track centre-lines showing, you can export the DXF file, and finally import it into Templot.

 

Lots of help with all this on the Templot Club forum at http://85a.co.uk/forum/

regards,

Martin.

[martin_wynne]

p.s. Mike,

 

You may like to have a look at this page:

 

 http://templot.com/companion/wrap_picture_shape_to_curve.html

 

Which shows a map of Corfe Castle station being wrapped onto a curve.

 

Martin.

[Modelling Mike]

Hi Martin,

 

Thank you for your excellent advice. I do appreciate you taking time out to explain things. It's given me a lot to think about.

 

I knew building a curved turnout first would be a bad idea. You're right, there are plenty of straight turnouts on the plan, but the fiddleyard will be laid with code 100 (I have a large amount left over from previous projects, it's non-scenic, so I'm happy for it to be non-prototypical, plus I'd like to be able to re-configure it easily should I need to). Also I'm keen to get trains moving as soon as possible, so I need to crack on with building Talbothays before thinking about St Aldhelm. I have a large number of recent purchases which need to be run in, as well as some older stock which could do with stretching their legs. I need that oval built PDQ!

 

I had never really considered using Templot before. As I already knew my way around the former, I didn't fancy the prospect of starting over from scratch. I had no idea I could import files into Templot from XtrackCAD. That makes it a whole different story, so I will be taking a closer look. I'll have a lurk in the forum too, and see what I can glean...

 

So, the dilemma is, I need to get trains moving on the Talbothays side of the layout, but I'm not experienced enough yet to build the kind of track I'm after.

 

I think a compromise might be for me to lay Peco flat bottom turnouts on Talbothays for now, with bullhead flexitrack. I can then get trains moving sooner rather than later. I'll then have a go at importing my plan into Templot and building some straight turnouts for St Aldhelm. If they're a success, I can then think about building turnouts to replace the Peco ones at Talbothays.

 

Exciting times ahead!

[Modelling Mike]

Finally, after a nearly three week hiatus, I've managed to grab two days to crack on with baseboard building.

 

Although I was eager to crack on, the novelty of woodwork has started to wear off now...this is definitely not my favourite part of the hobby!

 

With four boards complete, I had plenty of problem solving to do. First up, how to align and connect the "dropped" baseboard 4 to baseboard 1? As you can see, because of the drop, there is nowhere to clamp the two together to fit the alignment dowels, or to fit the toggle catches.

 

 

 

 

 

After a little head scratching, I decided to temporarily screw the two boards together using a scrap of wood on the top surface.

 

 

 

With the two boards now firmly mated together, I then took to contorting my body into confined and awkward spaces (whilst being very careful to avoid injury to hands and eyes) and I managed to drill perfectly aligned holes for the dowels and a pair of M8 bolts, secured with wing nuts. There are four small holes left on the top surface, but they'll be easily filled / hidden when the scenic work begins.

 

 

 

Then it was back to the easy work - building the frame for board 6 and legs for boards 5 & 6. I say easy, I did manage to lure myself into a silly mistake. Having decided, looking at the plan again, that board 6 would be full-height, I proceeded to make it some short legs matching those of the dropped boards. This lead, first to some rather colourful language, then after a cup of coffee and a sit down to gather my thoughts, this rather Heath Robinsonesque fix.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't have enough timber left to make brand new legs, so this will have to do. The extension pieces are surprisingly robust, glued and screwed together as they are (that Gorilla glue really is strong stuff!). They've also given me another unexpected bonus - the adjustable feet now sit outside the leg, and as I'll be ducking under this board to get to the fiddle yard, I won't be snagging socks and toes on them as I pass beneath!

 

So, with boards 1-6 now complete and in place, the first part of the layout is really taking shape. Just in time, too, as I had a surprise delivery this afternoon. S&DJR no 89 has been on pre-order for quite some time. I couldn't resist tidying up and taking a look at how the curve through Talbothays might look with Fowler's finest posed in what will roughly be the "up" platform.

 

 

 

 

 

I've been after a Bachmann 7F for some time, and it doesn't disappoint. I think she'll be a regular performer at St Aldhelm!

 

More family commitments tomorrow, then it's off to the Ally Pally show for a spot of shopping and inspiration on Saturday. I might have a tinker around in the hobby room on Sunday (I need to build a small extension piece to board 3 to fill in the gap near the door), but then it's back to work again on Monday, and another inevitable hiatus. It would be nice to think I might get trains running by the end of the summer...but that seems like a long way off yet...

 

Edited July 31, 2022 by Modelling Mike
Replacing lost photos

[Tim R-T-C]

Interested to see this project develop. I have in mind something similar, at least theme-wise, for a future project, when time and space allow.

 

I think modelling a realistic heritage scene is as 'challenging' as modelling any of the typical historical periods - particularly if you keep to realistic stock formations and plausible operation.

 

I think the juxtaposition of vintage buildings and equipment with modern figures, cars and buildings outside the railway will make for some interesting contrasts.

 

I look forward to seeing more.

[Modelling Mike]

Interested to see this project develop. I have in mind something similar, at least theme-wise, for a future project, when time and space allow.

 

I think modelling a realistic heritage scene is as 'challenging' as modelling any of the typical historical periods - particularly if you keep to realistic stock formations and plausible operation.

 

I think the juxtaposition of vintage buildings and equipment with modern figures, cars and buildings outside the railway will make for some interesting contrasts.

 

I look forward to seeing more.

Thanks Tim. I agree with you and don't understand the negativity surrounding the heritage scene amongst some modellers. There is just as much of a challenge to get this to look right as if I had been modelling the branch in LSWR or BR Southern region days.

 

Plausibility and realism are key aims for me. Of course, I am modelling a fictitious location, and I will be using modeller's licence, including bringing some classes and locos back from the dead, but many modellers do that anyway. How many times have I read in the modelling press "the branch closed in the 1930s, but I'm imagining what it would have been like in the 1970s", or "of course, the class xx never made it to yy but it did get to nearby zz, and I wanted one, so it runs" or words to that effect?!

 

A lot of modellers model the railways of their youth. A trip down memory lane for me is summer holidays camping near Harman's Cross and being excited about seeing the steam trains on the Swanage railway at the bottom of the hill. So that's what I'll model!

[Crisis Rail]

........Harman's Cross and being excited about seeing the steam trains on the Swanage railway at the bottom of the hill................

 

Just booked accomodation near Corfe Castle for August Bankes Arms here we come

 

Looked into the logistics of the Diesel Event in early May but could be a bit far in terms of commitments up here.

 

Maybe next year?

 

Ian